Contemplation II, Thoughts of a Man
by SevereArtisan
Summary: After the events of the Imperial Agent storyline, the former Cipher Nine looks back upon everything that has happened to him. Second fanfic. Contains major spoilers for the Imperial Agent storyline in Star Wars: The Old Republic.


_**Disclaimer: I do not own**_ _**Star Wars. They belong to George Lucas and Lucasarts. Anything related to SWTOR belongs to Bioware.**_

_A/N:_ And so I decide to do another one-shot, only this time, it is focused on my Imperial Agent in-game known as Washington (Character was inspired by Agent Washington in Red vs. Blue) I haven't had a chance to begin a full-on story with my SWTOR characters (Curse you, school) but perhaps I'll get the time I need during the summer.

_**WARNING: **_**Contains MAJOR spoilers for the Imperial story.  
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The office was dark as usual. After all, the darkness was practically a part of him.

Blake Alabaster, Agent Washington, Cipher Nine. He was all of these things. But, he was better known to as the Shadow Dealer to the galaxy, and he sat in the chair as he did everyday, contemplating ; calculating. The underworld feared him. The Republic dismissed him as a myth. And the Empire tried hunting him down for his secrets, but their efforts were like a rusted knife to a titanium wall. After all, only very few people knew who he even was. Even fewer knew where he was. And only two even knew his real name. Everyone else who did know him simply called him Wash since Washington was a mouthful. Heck, he called himself Wash. He never really remembered where he had gotten the name, but it was trivial and he was stuck with it.

He gathered, sold, and traded information, and boy, he had a lot of it. Whereas his brother fought the open threats, he fought from the darkness and shadows. And they would never know what he faced. History would not remember him. Not really.

_Shadow Dealer._

It was just one of his titles. He had also been called others, such as _The Keeper of Secrets, The Vigilant Phantom, _and _The Dark Watcher_.

He trusted nearly no one, but the Jedi and Sith were special on that list. The Star Cabal had been right about one thing. Every time the Jedi and Sith fight, innocent people die. The only Force users he could trust was his older brother Isaac and former Ensign Raina Temple.

His companions were one of the few he actually trusted, but would never admit it openly. Kaliyo was his Chief of Security and his personal enforcer. Vector was his emissary, ambassador, and messenger. Lokin was the Director of the Department of Research. Temple was his personal assistant, Operations Chief... And he was sure she had a secret crush on him. He had learned to read body language after all and her's practically screamed it. And finally, SCORPIO was the Head of the Cyberwarfare Division. In short, he had a very efficient setup for whatever he wished to accomplished.

He remembered who he was that long time ago. That idealistic, cheerful, encouraging, but brilliant young agent grinning on top of a hill with bright hope for the future. Now? Now he had turned and became a cold, calculating, realist who became one of the most brilliant and cunning men in the galaxy. Getting lied to, taken advantage of, pushed around, ignored, stabbed in the back, and left for dead tended to do that to a person. He wasn't even sure if his humanity was still there. Hell, it probably finally died with Hunter.

_Hunter..._

Nothing could have prepared him for what Hunter had shown him. Not his mind, not his training, nothing. But when Hunter did show him, everything fit perfectly. Hunter... was female. It was no wonder she acted the way she was towards him. And on some primitive level, he had enjoyed everything she had put him through. If Hunter's last wish was to cause him eternal grief and suffering... She had probably succeeded. After all, she was the only one who could match him, both physically and mentally. The only one who pushed him to his very limits. They certainly had a... _complicated_ relationship.

Wash had to chuckle at that. Even after four months, what had happened on that station containing the Black Codex was still fresh in his mind.

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_"So it all comes down to this." Wash spoke. _

_He had chosen to come alone after assassinating the Star Cabal leaders and ended up sending Vector back to the ship. This was between him and Hunter alone. This was his problem, and his alone, and like everything else, he would **deal **with it._

_"No more running. I **dreamed** about this. You and me tearing each other apart..." Hunter replied. "Who would've figured an Imperial cipher could threaten us?"  
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_"It doesn't have to be this way." Wash tried to reason only for his words to fail once again.  
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_"Why did you have to be Imperial? You would've fit right in - We could've been partners."  
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_Outwardly, he kept a poker face. Inwardly, he was screaming. After all, he had joined Intelligence for ONE reason only and that was to get him and his brothers information they could otherwise never lay their hands on for their plans in the future. He wanted to tell him that he wasn't truly Imperial, but... He just couldn't. Doing so would risk everything. After all, Hunter was practically the polar opposite of who he was. Whereas Wash was serious, Hunter practically took almost everything lightly... Including messing with his mind during his undercover operation as a double agent.  
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_He was so focused on his thoughts he almost didn't notice Hunter blow his head off with dual pistols, but luckily he had rolled to the side just in time and let the familiar stream of combat and his training flow through him. He breathed slowly and steadily and time itself seemed to slow down around him as he ran from one place to another, dodging lethal blaster bolts and plasma mines with graceful ease.  
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_He shot at the lights with his blaster pistol, plunging the room into darkness until emergency red lighting came on. But by the time that happened, the agent was well-hidden within the shadows.  
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_"Come out come out wherever you are." Hunter taunted, slowly patrolling the room.  
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_Wash ran all over the place whilst sticking to the shadows, often intentionally making noise which caused Hunter to shoot in the direction it came from. But, it had an effect. It was making him edgy. He had continued this game for about ten or fifteen minutes before Hunter screamed, "WHERE ARE YOU!"  
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_The agent made noise one more time, causing Hunter to shoot in the direction yet again, and gave Wash the opportunity to leap from behind, knock the man to the ground which caused the blasters to slip, and stab him in the back cleanly before flipping forward and turning to face him. Hunter slowly got up, only to see Wash's sleek blaster pointed at his face.  
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_"That answer your question?" Wash spoke calmly.  
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_Hunter chuckled slightly, "Well done. Well done..." _

_But a second later, Hunter became serious and talked, "It's your responsibility now - Everything we built, everything we hid from you... You're the only one like us left. You'll take good care of it. But between you and me... I want to show you one last thing."  
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_Wash withdrew his pistol, "Hold still. I'll get you a medpac."  
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_The Star Cabal agent chuckled again, "It's a little late for that. Come here."  
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_He noticed the wound he inflicted was fatal. At most, Hunter would only have three minutes to live; too long to find a medpac. Wash wasted no time and knelt down to listen to his final words before he was finally dead.  
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_"I was trained by the best. Killers, slicers - I even went to Tatooine to see the Old Man."  
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_A flash came and passed. And in the span of a single second, the normally collected Cipher Nine was shocked to his very core at the sight before him.  
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_"I haven't shown anyone my real face in a long time." Hunter smiled slightly.  
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_"This... This explains everything." Wash managed to speak.  
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_"I guess you could say that. I was a little girl when they found me. They erased my name, my planet... Eventually, it's easier to make up someone new."  
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_She certainly wasn't kidding there. He could definitely relate to that.  
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_"Then you came along - You kept your face when you became Cipher Nine. And I was so jealous - But we had fun..."  
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_Wash snorted, "Being brainwashed and tortured isn't what I call fun."  
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_"Hah!" Hunter laughed. "You're a liar - You like it all, don't you?"  
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_He said nothing, but deep inside, he knew she was right on some level.  
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_"Hunter and Cipher Nine... They're the tough ones. They play the game right."  
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_And at that moment, Wash's heart wrenched, threatening to tear itself out of him, and he ended up showing real emotion for the first time in a very long time as tears slowly flowed down his eyes as he spoke, practically choking, "You were the best enemy I could ever ask for..."  
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_With that, he pulled Hunter in for a long, passionate kiss and she returned it fiercely with her own fire. It lasted for a full thirty seconds before Hunter finally slowly, and regretfully, pulled away, looking deep into Wash's eyes.  
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_"Goodbye. Don't ever let them stop you."  
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_Hunter pressed a button on her left wrist device and electricity flowed through her, killing her. Wash stared at her body for a full minute before finally wiping the tears from his eyes and got up to access the Black Codex in front of him.  
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_"Black Codex access detected. Scanning... Identity confirmed. Star Cabal databanks intact."  
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_Before he could do anything else however, he heard a unfamiliar voice behind him, "The enemy is defeated."  
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_Wash turned around and saw two Sith Lords. He kept up his usual poker face, but inside, he was snarling for their blood, eager to kill something to forget about what had just transpired in the last few minutes.  
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_"Honored agent," one spoke. "The Dark Council learned of your predicament and sent us to join you. We regret that we were detained."  
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_"Stay where you are. I wasn't told about any Sith." Wash growled.  
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_"Local communications are jammed." the other spoke. Oh, this is definitely going to end badly.  
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_"We know the Minister of Intelligence is operating without authorization. He will face judgement, but you have served the Empire. Turn over the data record, and we will deliver it to the Dark Council so that it may enhance our glory."  
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_It took all of the agent's will to restrain himself at the words "Our glory". After all, he and Intelligence had done it all. The Sith had done absolutely nothing but hinder him. They did not deserve what was before them.  
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_"Of course, but there is one problem. You both won't be leaving alive." Wash grinned evilly.  
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_Before either of the Sith Lords could react, Wash had swept the one on the right off of his feet before raising his blaster rifle with lightning speed and shot three bolts that went through the Sith Lord's body, dead before he hit the floor. The other drew his lightsaber and launched a barrage of slashes at the agent, but he dodged each one masterfully before the Sith Lord gripped Wash in a Force choke.  
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_"For that, you will die." he growled.  
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_However, Wash had fully expected this, and managed to smile, "You first."  
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_The agent pulled a holdout blaster out of his boot and shot him squarely in the head. He fell and gasped for breath, but he chuckled a second later and got up to stare at the Codex.  
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_"This changes everything." Wash mused.  
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After that, he wiped out his own identity. The Minister of Intelligence even commented that he was now "a ghost with enough secrets to blackmail the galaxy". And that certainly was true. He remembered his words before he had set out to create his operation, after he had buried Hunter's body in silent, numb grief.

_"Imperial Intelligence is gone, and Cipher Nine is dead. From now on... We choose our own destiny."_

Four months soon passed, and within that time period, Wash had built up a massive network of contacts and operatives using the Black Codex and he had used his web to instill fear into the underworld and watch over the innocent people that suffered under them. He was also watching those in poverty within the Republic and Empire, and also possessed a dossier of every known person in the galaxy. The remnants of the former Imperial Intelligence worked under him now, having left the Empire behind; working to make the galaxy a better place for the innocents. But that time period was easy compared to rest of his journey. Heck, he had even technically gotten married. His mind drifted to Yana-ton, the Voss he had married to see important files vital to his goals.

_Yana-ton..._

His hand brushed against the picture of a Voss woman sitting on the desk. Often times, he wished he could just leave it all. To return to Voss and live out the rest of his life peacefully with that family. But no, Wash knew that it would never be that simple with him. No one could replace his position. No one could possess the same understanding and mind, not even the Minister of Intelligence. His brothers would need him when the time comes as well and he would never abandon them.

No, he would stay the way he was to protect those who couldn't fend for themselves when war consumed the galaxy. He would protect the innocents and the ones who sacrificed. And he would protect... _her_. Even though he would never be able to see her again while the galaxy was in its current state.

_Two star-crossed lovers who can probably never be together... Okay, so maybe my humanity isn't completely gone._

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_He never really got nervous. Not anymore. But Wash couldn't really shake that feeling in his stomach. After all, who could blame him. Seduction was one thing. He had done it plenty of times. But marrying someone to fulfill his goals. That was something else all together. But still, Yana-ton was... unique, beautiful, and even innocent to top it all off. He really loved her for who she was. She represented someone he could've been in a life ripped away from him. And he could tell that she probably loved him as well.  
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_"You'll be fine, agent." Vector comforted.  
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_"I haven't been fine for a long time, Vector," Wash sighed. "Who could've seen this coming?"  
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_"Oh cheer up, you're always a downer," Kaliyo teased. "Smile for once, would you?"  
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_Wash did the exact opposite and glared at Kaliyo, causing the Rattataki to laugh in response.  
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_"It's time, agent." Vector spoke.  
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_The agent had swallowed in actual nervousness. Everything flew by really quickly for him. Up until it was finally time to say the words.  
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_"Yana-ton, will you pledge your dreams? Pour your life onto my cupped hands, as I will for you?"  
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_"I would have no other."  
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_They had then kissed and once again, everything blurred by before him. But for once, he felt at peace, even if it was for a short amount of time.  
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_Part of him died when he had left Voss. But he knew he had to leave. After all, the Star Cabal still stood and only he could bring them down. Not Isaac, not Skradin. Him. The youngest out of all of them. _

_He had stood in his quarters alone, hand on the glass as if it was the barrier that separated him from a happy life. People usually never really realize how valuable something is until it's finally ripped away from them. And a life with a family waiting at home for you, smiling as you walk in through the door was among the most valuable. And he could never have it. Life was cruel. Oh well, he had gotten used to that fact a long time ago.  
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When he finally dies, he will not be remembered. No one in the galaxy save the people closest to him will know who the guardian watching from the shadows on the wall, guarding them against the evils that lurk in the darkness really is.

But it doesn't matter. He has already accepted that.

The chances of him living a normal life after everything is over... Slim.

Doesn't matter, he has already accepted that as well. After all, he was a man of calculation and precision to the point where he might as well be a droid. At least, he would be able to accept this if his humanity was wiped out. Because even him of all people can still feel. Pain, love, happiness, sorrow, grief, relief. They are all still a part of him, deep inside, underneath the layers.

And inside, he asks why him of all people had been chosen.

But the answer will not come to him. Nothing ever had. So why start now?

The former agent folded his arms on the desk. No, he will continue to do what he does.

Seek the truth.

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_**Imperial Agent's storyline was my most favorite one in the entire game. So many storyline-impacting decisions, plot twists, and epicness. Not to mention I felt like James Bond with laser guns. My own IA basically started out as an idealist, but became who he was after Chapter One and it worsened over the course of Chapter Two. For me, Hunter and Cipher Nine's relationship is a lot like Catwoman and Batman, heh. Anyways, reviews please!**_


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